SCOTLAND are undoubtedly in a good place right now. The team has a settled look to it, the players have a lot of experience, and the performance level at the Rugby World Cup was as high as it has been for quite some time. The important thing now is to build on that momentum and get off to a good start in this year's Six Nations.

One of the key challenges in international rugby is to start the tournament at as high a level as possible. This is tough, as the focus changes to club rugby for several months and you only have a short time together before the first game. I know that Vern Cotter and his team have been in regular contact with the players, which is key, and one advantage we have with our pro teams only an hour apart.

If you do get off to a good start, you then look at the second game and realise what position you would be in if you win that one as well. In a competition of only five games, that momentum can get going very quickly.

So just how good are this Scotland squad? One way of assessing it is to look at the players who will not be involved against England today – they’re as good a group as you’re likely to see.

Josh Strauss, for example – having played alongside him for Glasgow Warriors I know how good a player he is, so it says a lot for David Denton’s form and ability that he is keeping Josh out of the team. Then there’s Duncan Taylor, who has been in excellent form for Saracens but has lost out to Matt Scott. And, at centre, Alex Dunbar is out because of injury, but would definitely have been in contention too. This shows how strong our matchday 23 is.

This group of players know each other very well, and there is real quality and balance throughout the team. For me, that’s one of the really important points: there have been times when we’ve had a good pack but not such good backs, or a decent back division but a pack who struggled to get good ball: this time round, we’re possibly equally good up front and behind the scrum.

The front five are all playing really good rugby just now, and I am confident that they will hold, compete and hopefully even dominate every game in the Six Nations. If they do that, it will free up the back row to play on the front foot, which could make all the difference, especially if David Denton gets into his stride with his ball-carrying.

We’ve got a mobile pack, which is especially important against England. John Barclay is back, and I am sure that he and John Hardie will work really well together, with one going in low to the tackle and the other then being able to compete for the ball at the breakdown – because it’s often the second man in who has the chance of seizing possession.

England’s back row may not look as fast as ours, but I wouldn’t dismiss them lightly because of that. They have strengths in different areas and, if Scotland are to win the game, we have to cancel out these strengths.

As well as being mobile, our front five are excellent in the set piece too, and that is exemplified by Jonny Gray. The competition in the lineout will determine a lot, and he and his brother Richie dovetail really well there, and in fact as a second-row combination in general. If those two are at the top of their game, you will not get a better partnership in the Six Nations.

Jonny will give 100 per cent in every game, and he’ll hit more rucks and make more tackles than anyone else in the game. He’s also now making ball-carries that don’t just get over the gain line, they smash through it.

Jonny has more of a tighthead lock’s role, whereas Richie comes into his own in the loose. He’s so rangy and difficult to put down.

Whether going forward or defending, one vital thing for this Scotland team - and indeed for the supporters too - is to make England feel that they are not in control. Jonny Wilkinson was the best player in the world when it came to controlling a game, but I remember him saying there were times at Murrayfield when he felt out of control. The atmosphere can be second to none there, and when the passion of the crowd becomes tangible on the park it’s an incredible feeling.

I’m a firm believer that we should be optimistic going into every game, and before a ball is kicked, we have good reason to be very hopeful about Scotland’s chances. This is a really exciting team, and this tournament is an opportunity to learn all the lessons of the past year.

But of course England are coming up here with exactly the same attitude. They have wrongs to put right and a new coach to impress, so it won’t be easy. When Scotland are at their best, however, we can beat any team in the world. And if we get a top performance early in the tournament, who knows where that can take us?

Al Kellock won 56 caps for Scotland between 2004 and 2013, and now works for Scottish Rugby in both a commercial and an ambassadorial role.